I will continue to purchase Japanese teas! I will frame the fancy Japanese pouches for remembrance of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear "disaster." Remembrance of the lives lost, the suffering, the magnitude of the disaster, and of the Japanese perseverance even in disaster.

Why penalize them for these disasters. Obviously I will be watching the path of the radiation, and I may move more purchases to southern growing regions.

I´m not concerned about radiation from the damaged nuclear plant affecting the tea I purchase in any way and I will continue to purchase tea regularily from Japan.

If you understand the situation you would realize that the radiation levels are only consequential immediately surrounding the reactor site. Most tea in Japan is grown hundreds of kms away to the south. Most of the radioactivity in the affected area will disappear in hours once the leaks are stopped....and as far as I know there´s no tea growing there anyway.

I'll be wanting to support their economy by buying Japanese teas; I don't see any likelihood of radiation risk from the tea. I'd be more concerned about whether they have shortages of manpower to pick at the right time, with so many needs elsewhere.

I replied yes because imports fromJapan have been stopped here. I'm drinking my last drops of sencha. I was planning to get some shincha and more sencha in April, but there's no possibility to get anything here for now.

Why would you be concerned with that? We get the teas from the same areas other vendors do, and they are hermetically sealed. I wouldn't sell radioactive tea. If there is any possibility of the tea becoming radioactive, I certainly wouldn't be exposing my body to it.

We left Fukushima temporarily because it seemed the prudent thing to do. That said, I know plenty of people who are still there and so far, they are safe. Just waiting it out a bit to see how it goes down.

I'm sure there will be those who use unfortunate event as a selling point, guaranteed that will happen. Likewise, I can see where customers might be concerned about this, even though in reality I don't think there is a reason to be. But that is the reality. So for those reasons, I am seriously considering taking up the gracious invitation I have received to make a move to Uji. Not sure, but thinking about it.

Oni wrote:I am sure that they will analyze their tea for radiation, and Uji is far away from the reactor, I will surely buy shincha from maiko this year, I am concerned about o-cha`s shincha.

Kevangogh wrote:We left Fukushima temporarily because it seemed the prudent thing to do.

Oh good, I'm glad you are safe, not so much over worry about radiation, but because of the devastation and shortage of supplies in that area.

I'm an electric power systems research engineer, and have spent months on sites where I wore a radiation dosimeter all the time. I saw no reason for concern then, and I see no reason for concern now over O-Cha's teas, either existing stock or new. Between the excellent packaging and the fact that I'm sure they don't store their stock outside, I can't see how it would come to radiation harm, and I would have bought some a few days ago if their shop were not temporarily closed.

The tea growing regions aren't anywhere close to the plant that had difficulty.